African Cup Zimbabwe

It was time for my big race of the year, the African Cup in Zimbabwe. This year has been very challenging for me; I had to deal with injuries so I was hoping to finish it off on a high. Since Henri was racing I knew I was going to play catch up the whole race, since he is a good swimmer.

Start

I was trying to limit the time Henri can open up on the swim and see if I can catch him on the cycle leg. After the swim leg he had a 1min 40 lead. During the first two laps on the cycle we managed to close the gap a bit, but after that the gap remained the same. I knew then the race will come down to the run. The run route was very hilly so I thought I might have an advantage.  But that was not the case, he had an amazing race and I was unable to come even close to him. After two laps on the run, I new I wasn’t going to catch him so I had to race Chris for 2^nd. But he was also too strong for me on the day. He also had an amazing race - this was also his last ITU race so he was determined to put on a good show and he did just that.

Finish

 It was an honour to race with Chris Felgate for a few years; he is a great guy and a great triathlete. He definitely left a mark on triathlon in Africa. Well done, Chris!

The last race that I will do this year is the final of the BSG series. I am currently 2^nd in the series, so I’m hoping to keep my spot.

Until then

Cheers

BSG Triseries - Worcester

The 2^nd last race of the BSG series was held in the Worcester - I am not a big fan of the Cape but I had to race there to be in contention for the series prize. Wian and I cycled to the race for a short warm up. Once we got there business was as usual, register, rack the bikes and warm up before the race started.

The swim start was hectic, but I managed to get to the front of the pack - Wian and Heri was a few meters in front. My transition from swim to cycle wasn’t good so I was at the back of the pack, but managed to work myself up to the front soon. At about 7km in the cycle I lost concentration and a few guys went off the front of the pack. I was caught napping and had to do the rest of the cycle on my own. I was feeling disappointed about the cycle and decided that I have to finish of the race with a good run. I surprisingly felt really good on the run and was pushing hard to see if I can catch any of the athletes that were in the cycle group in front of me.

Transition 1

 I only managed to catch Pieter and was 4^th in the end, but I was very disappointed with my race.  Some serious work needs to be done before my next race, which was the African Cup in Zimbabwe.

Until then

Cheers

Rudolf